Ok. I confess. There's nothing more that I prefer to do in my spare time than roam through flea markets, antiques centres and thrift stores.
Of course, my second favourite activity is documenting it all in these pages.
So welcome to a retreat from the world filled with vintage finds, plants and pets.

Flickr

Saturday, 30 April 2011

This was a totally unexpected find. I was having coffee in an old café in Germany with the whole family and on my way to the bathroom, I spotted a collection of WGP vases on a window sill. I couldn't believe my eyes.

I chatted up the café owner and after some disbelief on his part ("What, you're collecting THESE ?"), he eventually agreed to part with this lovely green Scheurich vase for a mere 5 eur. Yes !

As you can see, the green collection is coming along nicely.

And so are the vegetable seedlings. Remember ? I sowed these just a month ago. Now most of them are already in dire need of being transplanted.I started over the long Easter weekend with the tomatos on the left. But after pottering along on the balconies for two days, I ended up running out of compost. Sorry seedlings, you need to be patient for a little longer.

Thursday, 28 April 2011

The cats are cool (read "asleep") as usual.

And me ? Wish I could say the same. But alas, no rest in sight...After having been fired from my last job, I decided to go back to school. For 14 months of web developer training no less. Jeez, my literary - (read "lazy") - brain is in total overdrive and about ready to burst...

But let me reassure you. I still have enough energy and time to stalk ebay and various thrift shops. Some fabulous finds are coming right up.

Saturday, 9 April 2011

Yeah, I know that is one horrible photo - both quality and subject wise.

Unfortunately this hot mess is no longer confined to the living room sideboard. Over the last few weeks, crap has slowly spilled over and out of the living room. And is now taking over the hall and is menacing the bedroom. I swear it's like this mess has a will of its own...

I spare you any further pictures. Plus it's still too dark to capture anything but the front room. Yep, I fell out of bed today, but - dude! - do I have a plan !

Finally get my lazy ass in gear and schlepp all the stuff destined for the cellar down to the cellar. Some of this stuff has been waiting in the hall for months now... making it increasingly difficult to enter my place... And NO, I don't want to end up in some crazy Hoarders TV show.

Hang second Enje shade in the kitchen (the first one has already been installed a while back - don't ask why the second one is taking so long). My Dad is scheduled to arrive in two hours to help. So this should definitely be feasable.

While Dad is here, ask him to help me install my new door handle. Yes kids, you guessed right. After obsessively stalking other people's rad 60s door handles (here, here and here), I finally scored one for myself !

Hoover and clean like there is no tomorrow. Or rather, like there IS a tomorrow and that tomorrow is bringing a family visit. And no, I don't want to be the black sheep, errr big fat slob, of the family...

Take care of all the normal weekend stuff : grocery shopping, thrifting (!), clean the cat loos, see friends, enjoy the sunshine...

Ok guys, it's now shortly after 8 am. I'm off to a quick shower (just in case I meet any neighbours on my way to the basement - you know, not wanting to appear as a total slob... ) and then off to work.

I'll let you know how the big battle turns out.

Update - it's now noon, my Dad just left and what did we accomplish ? One lousy Enje roller is now finally up. The door handle thing turned into a total disaster as we couldn't figure out how to get rid of the old one. No amount of turning or pulling could persuade the knob to move. It's been sitting on my entry door since 1959, and I have a feeling it's going to sit there for the next 50 years as well. Stupid thing !

Update 2 - Sunday, 7 am - I fell out of bed... again... So here's what I got done yesterday.

All the crap that cluttered up the hall is now either in the cellar or in the garbage bin. Success !

Grocery shopping

I decided I wouldn't have time to go thrifting. So that one can also be ticked of the list as well.

The cats can now poop on clean litter...

I also started tidying up the living room; the Cadovius shelves are now dust, cat hair and clutter free, and so is the seating corner. Still, the worse part remains mostly untackled...

Saturday, 2 April 2011

Spring is finally in the air. And this time around, I'm in the starting blocks to make the most of it. I've been a busy bee; cleaning, rearranging and planting up my little rear balcony.

The herb 'garden'. My trusted parsley, rosemary and oregano (at the end) made it through winter once again. They're in good company with some lovely daffodils. And soon (I hope), they will be joined by chives and garlic chives, which I've sown just today (in that empty-looking container).

I used to have a honeysuckle in this corner, but it never did very well. It's now living in a friend's garden where I'm sure it will be much happier. Instead of the crippled honeysuckle, I decided to give a climbing hydrangea a chance. I chose a variety that is not too invasive, so it should normally thrive in a container. So far, it seems to be doing very well !

Last year, I went for only plants out here and got rid of my table and chairs. This season, I'm definitely planning to spend much more time out here. Thus the reappearance of some seating.

I'm attempting a little Ikea upcycling, as this bench is part of the famous Molger bathroom range. I'll let you know how it holds up to outside weather conditions. This is basically a free experiment - I already had one in my possession, but ever since it got banned from my living room (once upon a time, this bench used to hold my old hi-fi), it was just collecting dust in the cellar. It's the perfect size for my tiny terrace, so I thought it would give it a try.